5 Centimeters
by Alyce Ochoa
Summary: Kuroko started to become aware of the distance between him and Akashi. He wanted to get closer to the redhead, but Akashi's father wanted his son to study abroad. This is basically a story where they fall in love with each other but couldn't convey their feeling in the right way. [Twoshot]
1. Chapter 1

**5 centimeters [Part One]**

* * *

Kuroko groaned in frustration when his hand could not reach the book he wanted to read. The book was not popular, thus the librarian placed it in the top shelf. He clicked his tongue and deemed that it was time to get the stool from the librarian to get the book, when he saw a hand reaching for the book from behind him. The person took the book easily, and he turned his head to tell the person that he wanted the book too, when his eyes met with heterochromatic ones.

"Here, Tetsuya." Said Akashi Seijuurou as he handed the book to the speechless bluenette. "This book is the one you want, right?"

Kuroko nodded wordlessly, took the book from the other's hand, before he finally said, "Thank you, Akashi-kun."

"You're welcome, Tetsuya."

 _'_ _It's just 5 centimeters.'_ Thought Kuroko bitterly. _'He is taller than me by just 5 centimeters. How could he get the book easily? It's not fair at all, Akashi-kun.'_

"Are you free after this, Tetsuya?"

"Eh? Yeah, I do."

"Do you have any plan for this evening?"

"Yes, Akashi-kun. I want to go home quickly and read this book as fast as I can."

Akashi chuckled, amused by the eagerness in Kuroko's eyes. "Alright then, let's go home quickly."

Kuroko tilted his head in confusion. _'Eh? Does this mean that Akashi-kun is going to accompany me home?'_

"Go tell the librarian that you want to borrow the book, Tetsuya. I'll be waiting outside."

 _'_ _What? He really is going home with me?'_

Akashi frowned slightly. "Don't just stare at me, Tetsuya. Hurry up and go tell the librarian."

"Ah, yes, Akashi-kun. Then, please wait for me."

A small smile made its way onto Akashi's face. "When you're done, I will be outside."

-.-

*ring ring*

Halfway through the way towards Kuroko's house, Akashi's phone had rung.

"Ah, it's from my chauffeur." Said Akashi after he had taken a glance at the displayed caller's name on the screen. He glanced at the boy beside him, silently hinted that he was going to answer the call. When the other only nodded in response, he slid the answer button and talked to the person in the other line.

While Akashi took the phone call, Kuroko let his mind wandered.

 _'_ _It's about 10 centimeters.'_ Thought Kuroko as he stared at the distance between their hands. _'If I extend my hand for just 10 centimeters, I can grab his hand.'_

He paused his trail of thoughts. _'And then what? Will he let me grab his hand all the way, until we reach my house? Will he pull away in disgust? Or will he deemed that I'm just being weird and think nothing of it?'_

He glanced at the redhead and stared at the way the other's lips moved.

 _'_ _How long is he going to take just to tell his chauffeur not to pick him up?'_

Right at that moment, Akashi shifted his attention on him suddenly and stared back at him. Kuroko blushed – the redhead caught him staring red-handed.

Akashi said some more to the person in the other line before he ended the call.

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya. Were you lonely?"

Kuroko blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, Akashi-kun?"

The redhead frowned. "You protested that I was taking a long time on the phone."

"Eh? But I didn't…"

"You did, Tetsuya."

 _'_ _Ah. Did I voiced my thoughts aloud? How could I?'_ Kuroko was in a panic state, though nothing of it showed on his face.

"It wasn't a protest, Akashi-kun. I was merely wondering."

Akashi continued to stare at him, evident that he did not buy it. "It turned out that my father is the one who was going to pick me up. It took me quite a time to negotiate with him."

 _'_ _I see.'_

"Why would your father pick you up by himself, Akashi-kun?"

"He was planning to go straight to my mother's grave with me. It was more convenient since the school is also in the way."

"Eh? Is today your mother's death anniversary?"

"Yes."

"Is it far from here?"

"It's about 20 minutes on foot from your home."

"Are you going to visit her grave after this?"

"Yes, indeed."

"Then, can I accompany you?"

Akashi stared into cyan eyes, wondering as to why the other had offered to accompany him. When he could not find anything in those perfectly masked blank face, he finally asked the shorter boy. "Why would you want to accompany me?"

"… Should I not?"

"I recalled you said that you want to go home quickly so that you can read the book as fast as you can."

"Ah, well…" A light blush dusted the bluenette's pale cheek. "I can just read it later, right? Do you not want me to accompany you, Akashi-kun?"

The redhead smiled, and Kuroko's heart skipped a beat. "It would be my pleasure, Tetsuya."

 _'_ _Twenty minutes more.'_ Thought Kuroko with a small smile – barely visible – on his face. _'I can spend another twenty minutes with Akashi-kun. Oh, and another twenty minutes on the way back.'_

He stole a quick glance towards his companion. _'I'm happy I can spend a lot of time with Akashi-kun today.'_

-.-

It was unspoken agreement among the Generation of Miracles to spend their lunch break on the rooftop. It was not because they do not want to associate with those who are not in their circles, but mostly because they cannot keep the conversations going with the others. Their interactions with the others are very limited. Kise only interact with his fans, Aomine with perverts who are like him, Midorima with the other class reps, Murasakibara with the girls in the home economic club, while Kuroko with no one – since no one other than GoM notices him. Akashi Seijuurou can interact with those who have powers normally – he can keep the conversations going between them, but not with those who have lesser power than he does. He just has this intimidating aura that will scare those who have nothing to offer to him.

Since it was an unspoken agreement, they did not have any obligation to tell the others if they cannot come to the rooftop. It was purely coincidental that that day, only Akashi and Kuroko who could spend their lunch break on the rooftop. Akashi knew that Midorima had a meeting with the other class reps while Murasakibara went to bake cookies with the girls from home economic club since he was in the same class with the purple head and the tsundere. He did not know why Kise and Aomine could not come, though he has some speculations about it.

 _'_ _Ryouta is probably caught by his fans while Daiki most likely is discussing about some vulgar things with his classmate.'_

To prove that his assumptions were right, Akashi asked Kuroko. "Tetsuya, where is Ryouta and Daiki?"

Kuroko swallowed the food in his mouth before answered, "Kise-kun is with his fans, and Aomine-kun is discussing Mai-chan's latest photobook with Sakura-kun."

"I see." Akashi nodded, satisfied with himself for always being right.

After their little conversations, they spent their break quietly, focusing on eating their lunch, until Akashi broke the quiet spell and stole a rolled egg from Kuroko's bento box.

Upon noticing that one of his rolled eggs was taken, Kuroko could only stare at the redhead in disbelief.

"What is it, Tetsuya?" asked Akashi like nothing was wrong after he ate his friend's food innocently.

"You just stole my rolled egg." Said Kuroko accusingly with a monotone voice.

"Yes, I did."

 _'_ _Why?'_ Kuroko was about to say, but Akashi answered his question even before he could voice it out.

"It's too quiet without them. I figured that I should do something to make you talk."

Again, Kuroko's eyes widen in disbelief. "And you decided to steal my food to make me talk?"

Akashi shrugged. "It worked."

Kuroko pouted. "I don't think that's a good enough reason to steal people's food, Akashi-kun."

The redhead chuckled. "I guess." He picked up a fried shrimp from his own bento box and put it into Kuroko's. "There. Are we even now?"

Kuroko took a bite of the fried shrimp, and then said, "I guess."

He was about to finish the given fried shrimp when he noticed that Akashi's hand moved towards his face. He jolted in surprise when Akashi brushed his finger lightly on his face. He glanced at the redhead and saw that the captain just licked _something_ that had been on his face.

"There was a rice on your face, Tetsuya."

Kuroko blushed. "I – I see."

Akashi observed the other for a minute before he asked, "Your face is red, Tetsuya. Do you have a fever?" He moved closer to the bluenette, wanting to check the other's temperature. However, when his hand was about to touch the other's forehead, Kuroko jerked away in response. Akashi stilled his hand; he understood that the bluenette was uncomfortable. Therefore, he withdrew his hand, and continued his lunch without saying anything else.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere had become awkward. There was only the soft sound of the wind between them and nothing else once again.

The phantom boy sighed internally. _'Now I've done it. I was so nervous after I saw Akashi-kun licked the rice on my face nonchalantly like that. I was shaken, that's why I overreacted when his hand moved closer to my face again.'_

Even though Kuroko had always wanted to spend some time alone with Akashi, at that time he only wanted the lunch break to be over quickly. _'What should I do now? It really is quiet and awkward without Kise-kun or Aomine-kun.'_

He glanced at the redhead, and he noticed that the distance between them was wider than before. It seemed that Akashi had moved slightly away after Kuroko had rejected his touch.

Sadness and regret washed over him as he stared at the distance between their knees. _'It's about 80 centimeters. Probably. Well, more or less.'_ He wanted to scoot closer to his friend, but he could not, since he was the reason the redhead had made some distance between them.

 _'_ _Ah, the sun hit my shoulder.'_ Thought Kuroko as he glanced at the redhead once again. _'I can move closer to him, right? I can just blame the sun.'_

"Tetsuya, why don't you move closer? Isn't it hot over there?" Offered Akashi suddenly.

Kuroko blinked in surprise. He wondered how the redhead knew exactly what he had thought.

 _'_ _Did I voice out my thoughts again?'_

He observed the other's calm face for a few seconds before he deemed that he did not carelessly voice out his thought again. Sighing in relief, he replied with, "Yes, Akashi-kun."

-.-

Kuroko walked towards the bench tiredly. The training today was especially hard. The coach demanded them to focus on their shooting ability to develop it. It was a hard task for him since he could only shoot with a phantom shoot while the other could shoot with much more different styles.

He grabbed his water bottle and drank from it quite desperately before he wiped his sweat with the white towel he had brought from home. The club's manager, Momoi Satsuki, who sat beside him, did not seem to notice his presence since she was absorbed in calculating the data she had from today's practice.

 _'_ _She looks quite serious.'_

Curiosity killed the cat. He leaned over to her slightly to peek into the clutched board in her arms. He saw the number of shoots the first string players had shoot today, and a small smile made its way onto his lips. _'Of course the first place is Midorima-kun. Let's see… the second place should be Aomine-kun, right?'_

He peeked once again and scanned the data she had to see if he was right. Turned out he was not.

 _'_ _What? The second place is Akashi-kun. He had shot 119 shoots in just one hour!'_

Right at that moment, he heard the sound of the smooth swish of the hoop as the ball entered the ring, followed by the coach's whistle, and he noticed that Akashi had just made his 120's shot of the day. He looked over to the redhead, and noticed that the other was panting hard.

 _'_ _He is really pushing himself today. Why?'_

He looked over to his own count of shoots. He only managed to shoot twenty times today.

 _'_ _It's like Akashi-kun is drifting far away from me.'_ A sadness washed over him suddenly. _'Like how he did in middle school.'_

-.-

Akashi closed his locker as he heaved a long sigh. Everyone had gone home long ago, and he was the only one left in the clubroom. He put the data Momoi had given him before she went home into a folder; and then he grabbed his bag and left the room. He locked the door and walked to the school gate, surprised when he saw a blue-sky haired boy waiting for him right in front of the gate.

"Hey, Tetsuya." He greeted the other with a small smile as he stopped in front of the smaller teen. "Are you waiting for me?"

Kuroko nodded wordlessly without looking at the redhead.

"Then, shall we go home?"

Kuroko nodded once again without saying anything.

Akashi frowned slightly. _'Well he is quiet, but not this quiet. He should at least look at me.'_

"Is something bothering you, Tetsuya?"

This time, the bluenette shook his head before he looked up and stared back at him.

At that time, Akashi did not expect that the other would threw his question right back at him. "Is something bothering you, Akashi-kun?"

Heterochromatic eyes widened for a second. Akashi let out a soft chuckle. _'Tetsuya, you always exceed my expectation.'_

Instead of answering the question, the redhead replied with, "Let's stop at Maji Burger on the way home."

"… Only if you treat me one serving of large vanilla milkshakes."

Again, the redhead chuckled out of amusement. "Sure, Tetsuya. I'll even buy you large french fries as bonus."

"No, Akashi-kun. Vanilla milkshakes is enough for me."

-.-

Kuroko stared at the large serving of french fries in front of him with a foul mood.

"Stop staring, Tetsuya. Start eating." Said Akashi as he put down his own tray of food.

The bluenette shifted his gaze to the redhead who sat in front of him and pouted. "I told you that vanilla milkshakes is enough, Akashi-kun."

"You should eat dinner, Tetsuya."

"I will when I get home."

"I know you _never_ eat dinner, Tetsuya."

"… I do… sometimes." Muttered Kuroko in his self-defense.

"You mean, _rarely_."

Kuroko pouted once again. He grabbed the vanilla milkshakes and drank it, refusing to touch the offending french fries in front of him.

Akashi exhaled a long sigh. _'I knew he would be like this.'_ He took one of the french fries, held it in front of Kuroko, and said, "Fine, Tetsuya, I'll feed you. Now, say aahh…"

Kuroko's pale face tinted with a refreshing red. "I – I can eat it myself!" said the bluenette as he turned away his head to hide the blush on his face.

"Are you sure you don't want me to feed you, Tetsuya?" asked Akashi as he moved the french fries teasingly.

"…" The bluenette peeked at the redhead before he bit the french fries reluctantly.

"Good boy." Said Akashi with a satisfied smile.

Kuroko's heart skipped a bit at the smile, and his blush deepened. _'That is not fair, Akashi-kun.'_

They spent the first few minutes in silence, staring into each other's eyes without breaking contact. It was when Akashi had finished his burger did he finally talked.

"I might have to go to England for university."

Kuroko dropped the french fries in his hand. His eyes widened in shock. "Why?"

Akashi lowered his gaze, breaking the eye contact between them. "I might have to leave one month or two months after we third-years have to retire from all of club activity."

"But it's… a month from now…"

"Yes."

"… Why?"

The redhead heaved a long sigh. "I think you already know the answer, Tetsuya."

"Is it your father's order?"

"Yes, it is." He paused for a moment, hesitating whether he should tell the bluenette about all the details. "He already talked about it with our homeroom teacher, and Hyuuga-sensei was more than supported it."

"But why England? There are many good universities here, too."

"Yeah, there are."

"Is it final? Do you really have to go?"

"Yes." Responded Akashi with a bitter smile.

An uncomfortable silence wafted between them.

"Akashi-kun," Kuroko called suddenly. "Please look at me."

The redhead heaved a short sigh before his heterochromatic eyes met once again with the baby blue orbs.

"Stay here, Akashi-kun." Said Kuroko with a blank face, though his eyes were pleading. "Stay here with me."

"… Tetsuya, you know that I cannot – "

"Promise me, Akashi-kun."

The red emperor did not respond anything for a few moments, and Kuroko almost gave up hope. But then, the redhead said, "Then, let's live together throughout our university days."

Kuroko's eyes widened. His face was flushed red. What his captain said sounded very much like a proposal to him. He did not want to have any more hope than he already have, but he could not help but be lured in by those words. "Um… sure, Akashi-kun."

And for the first time in that day, Akashi showed him a real smile, and the phantom's heart skipped a beat at the beautiful display in front of him. "Alright, it's a promise then, Tetsuya."

The bluenette nodded. He practically was radiating happiness. "It's a promise, Akashi-kun."

"Now, finish your food and let's go home, Tetsuya."

-.-

A few weeks had gone by since their little promise with no accident, though Kuroko could not say that he passed those days with ease. He was afraid that Akashi's father still would not let his son enter local university. He was more than sure that Akashi could get full scholarship in Tokyo University, but he knew that his friend's father was not easy to please, and it might not be enough to change his mind.

His anxiety finally reached its peak when the redhead announced that he could not attend club activity for a week. The red emperor appointed Midorima as the vice-captain to take over his duty, and after the short announcement, he was gone out of the first-string gym. The bluenette wanted to confront Akashi, to ask why he could not attend club activity, but Midorima did not let him go out of the gym without finishing his training regime first.

Kuroko was pissed as hell. That day, Kuroko intentionally broke the greenhead's lucky item of the day for the first time in the years they had been friends, leaving the vice-captain fell into a state of shock.

"Aahh! Kurokocchi! Look, Midorimacchi is crying! You made him cry!"

"I'm not crying – nanodayo."

"Ah, now you've done it, Tetsu. Midorima will haunt you for days."

"I'm not dead, you stupid ganguro – nodayo!"

"Crushing his lucky item is the same as crushing his heart, Kuro-chin."

Kuroko heaved a long sigh, he had calmed down a little after breaking the greenhead's poor lucky item. "… Sorry, Midorima-kun." Said the bluenette with no expression at all on his face.

The tsundere glared at him, clearly not accepting his words of apology. "Look Kuroko, I don't know what your problem is with Akashi, but he was the one who told me not to let you go anywhere close to him for a few days."

"Eh? Why? Hey, why, Midorimacchi?"

"What, so you're Akashi's bodyguard now?"

"It's only Kuro-chin, right? I can still come close to Aka-chin, right?"

"I doubt that you can keep up with his request, Midorima-kun. I have misdirection. You will lose sight of me in no time."

Midorima sighed as he pushed up his glasses. "I don't mean it like that. He only told me to make sure that you won't follow him to England, Kuroko."

"What? England?" the Generation of Miracles' eyes widened as they said the words in unison, save the phantom man who had become quiet instead.

"Is Akashicchi planning to go to England?"

"He should be already in the airport by now." Answered Midorima smoothly.

"That damn rich bastard. How dare he abandon the club for a vacation?"

"It was not a vacation – nodayo. He has to go there to finish some business."

"Eh… I hope Aka-chin will bring me some snacks from there…"

"What business?" asked Kuroko with a strained voice. "Is he applying for a university there?"

A moment of silence fell around them for a few moments until Kise broke it. "Eh? Akashicchi is leaving us? Moreover, he already decided his university?!"

"University, huh… I haven't thought about it at all." Commented Murasakibara with his usual lazy tone.

"You guys are loser! I have already decided about where to go after high school!" said Aomine with a smug smirk on his face. "I'm gonna join the police academy!"

"Eh? Police academy? That's so cool, Aominecchi!"

"Of course! You're no way near my cool self, Kise!"

While his friends were fooling around instead of training, Kuroko slipped away from them and went to the clubroom unnoticeably. He opened his locker and grabbed his phone. He dialed the redhead's number immediately, hoping that the other has not boarded yet.

His hope was crushed when he heard the operator greeted him with, _"The number cannot be reached now. Please hang up and try again later."_

He tried dialing the number again, but he still got the same answer from the operator. After the nth attempt, he finally closed his phone dejectedly.

 _'_ _Here I am trying to shorten the gap between us, but looks like fate only brings us farther.'_

He let his body slid down to the floor, feeling tired all of a sudden. "Don't go away, Akashi-kun…"

-.-

Kuroko rolled on his bed uncomfortably for a few times. It was already past midnight, and he really should sleep, but he was not feeling the least bit sleepy. No matter what, he could not seem to free his mind out of a certain redhead.

 _'_ _I know I should trust Akashi-kun… but…'_

He let out a heavy sigh.

 _'_ _What is he doing all the way to England? I wonder if he is asleep yet – but oh, the time is different over there, right?'_

He jolted in surprise when his phone ringed shortly, indicating that he just got a new mail.

 _'_ _Is that Akashi-kun?'_

He reached for his phone, unlocked it, and a small smile appeared on his face. _'It is Akashi-kun.'_

 **From:** Akashi-kun

 **Message:** Believe in me, Tetsuya.

 _'_ _Ah, of course he knows that I'm feeling insecure.'_ Thought Kuroko as he typed up a reply. _'And his timing is perfect as usual.'_

 **To:** Akashi-kun

 **Message:** Okay, Akashi-kun.

The smile has not gone from his face when his phone chimed again for the second time that night.

 **From:** Akashi-kun

 **Message:** I'm looking forward to living together with you, Tetsuya.

An adorable blush spread on his pale cheek as he read the message from the redhead again and again until he – finally – fell asleep with a dork smile on his lips.

-.-

In the week when Akashi was in England, Kuroko could not gather his will to play well in club activity. His famous phantom shot often bounced out of the ring, his pass had become sloppy, and Nigou whined at him constantly because he forgot to feed the dog all the time.

Right before it was time for the third-years to retire and focus completely on passing the university exams, the red emperor came back. He showed up right in the middle of the club activity out of nowhere, gathered all of the students from the first-string to third-strings, and passed the captain's crown he had been holding for three years to the capable second-year Nijimura Shuuzo.

The redhead called all of the third-years to the front and said, "Now, it is time for us to retire." He shifted his gaze to Nijimura, "I'm leaving my team to you, captain."

"Yes!" answered the raven-haired teen as he bowed shortly.

They ended the club practice early that day to eat together as a farewell party for the third-years – courtesy of the new captain.

-.-

It was almost nine when the party had ended. The first and the second years had gone home long ago, leaving behind only a few of them. Some of the third years had gone too, but the Generation of Miracles stayed behind, even after the others had gone home.

They sat in a table for six, leaving no room for the others to join in on their conversations. Kuroko, of course, sat beside the red emperor – he had wanted to ask many things to the redhead, but he could not find the right time to ask. The GoM spent a lot of time talking and fooling around, knowing that they could not meet in club activities anymore. They knew that comes tomorrow, they will be busy with exams preparations, like it or not. They had planned to go on until at least ten o'clock, but Murasakibara's phone had rang an hour before – his mother was worried about him and ordered him to go home straight away. Therefore, they deemed that it was indeed a good time to end the party and go home.

"See you next week, everyone!" said Kise in a cheerful voice.

"Yeah, see you," said Aomine as he waved his hand towards the group before leaving with Kise towards the station.

"Then, I'll go home too…" Murasakibara glanced at the greenhead beside him. "Let's go, Mido-chin."

Midorima glanced at the purple-haired man, nodded shortly, and then said to the remaining members of the GoM, "We'll be leaving, Akashi, Kuroko."

"Aa. Be careful on your way home."

"Take care, Midorima-kun, Murasakibara-kun."

They watched until the two had disappeared from their sights before they made their own way home.

 _'_ _Ah, I think I can ask him now?'_ thought Kuroko inwardly. He stole a glance at the redhead, but again, he found himself cannot ask the questions. He was too scared of hearing the answers. Although the redhead asked him to believe him, he could not truly put his trust, because he knew that Akashi's father was a tough egg to crack.

 _'_ _What did you do in England for a week, Akashi-kun?'_ the bluenette stole a glance again, and his heart skipped a beat when his gaze met with heterochromatic eyes. The redhead threw him a knowing smile, but he did not say anything until they reached the bluenette's house.

Once Kuroko caught sight of his house, he felt a sadness washed over him all of a sudden. He wanted to spend more time with Akashi. So once they arrived in front of his gate, he unlocked it slowly, wondering why Akashi was silent all the way home. He stepped behind the gate, closed it, and said, "Then, see you next week, Akashi-kun."

"Yes, Tetsuya."

A few seconds had passed, but neither of them made any move to leave the other.

"Go inside, Tetsuya." The redhead chided softly.

"No, you should go first, Akashi-kun." Replied the bluenette stubbornly.

"… Tetsuya." Akashi called the phantom's name before he chuckled – and oh, how Kuroko loved that sound. "You have been stealing glances at me all this time." The redhead leaned closer to the bluenette. "Got something on your mind?"

 _'_ _T – too close!'_ thought Kuroko as he wondered about the gap between their face. "O – Of course I have, Akashi-kun."

"Then why don't you talk to me about it?"

"…" The phantom man hesitated for a few seconds. He got a lot of question jumbled up in his mind. "You're going to stay here, right, Akashi-kun?"

The redhead smiled. "Yes, Tetsuya."

He heaved a sigh of relief. "Then, what did you do in England, Akashi-kun?"

"Ah, I was there to assist a small branch of my father's company."

"Huh? Your father sent you there?"

"Yes, in a way. Since the old manager had passed away, the income from that branch had declined, therefore I proposed a new business plan to my father, and he told me to bring back results. If it works, I can go to the university here. "

"Will it work?"

"We'll have to see in a month."

"If it doesn't work then what will you do, Akashi-kun? You will have to go to the university there."

The red emperor chuckled. "It _will_ work, Tetsuya."

Kuroko frowned slightly. "That's why I'm saying _if_ it doesn't work, Akashi-kun."

"There's no way it won't work. I'm absolute."

 _'_ _Ah, of course. I knew that he will say that.'_ Thought Kuroko bitterly. There is no doubt that he was still worried about the matter, but he knew that the redhead is a genius. _'Oh well, maybe it could work.'_

"Do you have to go there again, Akashi-kun?"

"No, I don't have to. I just have to wait for the results here. In the meantime, I will continue my work here."

The bluenette tilted his head to the side, confused entirely. "Your work?"

"Aa. I have been working as business consultant since our first year in Rakuzan. However, many people will look down on me if they knew that I am still in high school, so I set it up online. That way I won't have to meet my clients."

 _'_ _Ah, so that's why he's overly confident that his plan will work.'_ Thought Kuroko as he stared at the red emperor before him with an amazed look on his eyes. _'Then I have no choice but to put my full trust in him.'_

"Then which university do you want to go to, Akashi-kun?"

"I'm planning to get full scholarship from Tokyo University." The redhead paused briefly. "You have to get in too, Tetsuya. I will train you."

Kuroko paled. He has average grade, there was no way someone with his grade can get in Tokyo University. "Uhm, I don't think I can get in, Akashi-kun. My grade is average."

"Did you not hear me, Tetsuya? I said that I will train you." Akashi smiled warmly despite the cold words he threw at his teammate. "You will get in surely."

 _'_ _Oh, god, no.'_

"Now get inside, Tetsuya. Rest early. I will start tutoring you from tomorrow on."

"You mean: you will turn my life into hell from tomorrow on." Muttered the phantom boy with a quiet voice.

"What was that, Tetsuya?"

"I said _yes_ , Akashi-kun."

Akashi smirked playfully. "Good, Tetsuya."

They both knew that the redhead obviously heard what the bluenette had muttered before.

-.-

After the last lesson had ended and the school bell had rang, Kuroko gathered his things and made an escape to the front gate as fast as he can. He _really_ did not want to spend his remaining months as a high-schooler cooped up in the library, studying things he didn't care about. But please, don't misunderstand him. He did not hate studying; he just could not see the point why people have to study hard. Sure, he wanted to further his study into popular university, but he certainly did not want to get into Tokyo University. Why, you ask? Because the competition there is unbelievably high, and he would not be able to stand the stress. The stresses he got from playing basketball in middle school and high school were more than enough, thank you very much.

Well, though, truth to be told, the true reason was not that at all. He _knew_ that if Akashi were the one teaching him, it would be no question that even someone with an average grade like him would be accepted. He _almost_ agreed to the idea, and he was eager to study together with his crush, but he did not like the idea of going to the same university as the redhead. Why, you ask? Because he had spent, six years watching the redhead getting confession from all kind of girls. Sure, the redhead had never accepted those confessions, but someday, _someday,_ he would accept one of it.

 _'_ _Of course. The red emperor will not be single forever. He will have to take a queen for him. For his people. For the future.'_ Thought Kuroko as a sarcastic smile played on his lips for a second. _'Now I'm being poetic.'_

He had had enough. He could not watch the redhead going further away from him.

Now, he started doubting that he can live together with the redhead. He thought that maybe, _maybe,_ living together with the redhead would only bring pain to him.

Upon passing the shoe lockers, he started glancing around, looking for a certain red. He sprinted to the gate, thinking that once he was outside the gate, he could blend into the crowds better and the redhead would not be able to find him.

 _'_ _Sweet, I don't see Akashi-kun anywhere.'_ Thought Kuroko with a victorious smile on his lips as he passed the front gate and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I wouldn't drop my guard so easily if I were you, Tetsuya."

The bluenette jolted in surprise. He turned away and saw the red emperor stood a few steps behind him. _'When did he get here?'_ thought Kuroko irritably. _'Why didn't I see him?'_

"Tell me, how does it feel, Tetsuya, when you thought that you had win when in reality you just lost?"

Kuroko narrowed his eyes. "That's… mean, Akashi-kun. You're being a big meanie."

Akashi chuckled. "Yes, I am. Despite that, you still fell for me."

The phantom boy blushed bright red. "I – I _hate_ you, Akashi-kun!"

"Yes, yes, I love you too. Now, let's get going, shall we?"

-.-

"Tetsuya."

Akashi called the bluenette in front of him, but the bluenette did not respond.

"Tetsuya."

He tried again, but still, no respond.

 _'_ _He stopped talking to me after we had entered the library.'_ Akashi frowned in distaste.

He let out a soft sigh and got up from his seat. He crossed the table and approached the bluenette – hoping for a respond all the while – until he stood right in front of the bluenette. He was a bit angry when he still did not get any respond, but of course, he had a backup plan. He always had.

He extended his hand, reaching for the bluenette's chin, and forced the slightly smaller man to look up to him.

The bluenette gasped softly, and only god knows how much Akashi appreciated that sound, before he averted his gaze and slapped his hand away. "What are you doing, Akashi-kun?"

"Tetsuya, do you not want to get into Tokyo Uni?"

The redhead had to wait for an awful lot of time just to hear the answer. "… Of course I do, Akashi-kun."

 _'_ _I see. So the problem doesn't lie in the choice of college I chose.'_

"Then, do you not want to get into the same university as me?"

"… I don't."

"Enlighten me."

Kuroko bit his lip. "Actually Akashi-kun, I don't think that I can also live with you."

The red emperor took a deep breath. "We made a promise that we will be living together once we enter college."

"Then please revoke the promise."

Kuroko lifted his head and _finally_ looked at him in the eye. Too bad that what he said next was not something the redhead had hoped. "After all, you can't force an unwilling person to live together with you, can you?

Akashi smiled an eerie smile. "That's nice of you Tetsuya, saying something like that after all of my efforts to change my father's mind." His eyes stung, and he felt that he could break down in tears any moment now.

Not wanting anyone to see him cry – well, it's not like he couldn't suppressed his urge to cry just because his heart had tightened painfully – he left the library without saying anything more to the bluenette.

He had had enough.

* * *

-.-

* * *

 **To be continued…**

 **A/N:** It's sad, right? I know. They hurt each other after all. This is not supposed to end like this. I'm sorry. I was planning to make a oneshot, but it was too much to be (just) a oneshot, so I will make it into twoshot. Or threeshot. Or wait, maybe two is enough.

I was thinking to make a fluffy AkaKuro story when I wrote the beginning, and honestly I DON'T KNOW WHY THERE IS SO MUCH ANGST IN THE END for fuck's sake. And the theme supposed to be 'distance'. I almost praised myself for always turning fluffy idea into angst story. What the hell.

Well anyway, **leave me a comment please so that I know that anyone actually read this awful story.** It's like some kind of motivation for me to finish this story. I'm sorry, I'm too much for a rookie ff writer. Sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

**5 centimeters [Part Two]**

* * *

Midorima sighed. He could not take it anymore.

"Oi, Akashi!" The greenhead faced his ex-captain head on. "Will you stop making that face?"

Akashi lifted his gaze from the book and slowly met up with Midorima's green ones. "What is it, Shintarou? What do you want?"

"You!" Midorima sighed again. He rubbed his forehead in an annoyed manner. "Stop glaring at _every living things!_ What the hell is your problem?!"

The redhead turned his head away, paid no heed at his friend's words of accusation.

"Don't you know that you're scary as hell?!"

"Just let him be, Mido-chin…" said Murasakibara suddenly. He had been there all along, since they were classmates after all. "Aka-chin has been always scary. He is just scarier is all."

The greenhead sighed for the third time. "Listen, Akashi. If you have _any_ problem, you can tell me. I will try my best to help you."

"Ah, I can also lend my ear for you anytime, Aka-chin…"

Akashi bit his lower lip briefly – feeling guilty since he made his friends worried about him. "Thank you, Atsushi, Shintarou." He faced them both; a small smile adorned his lips. "But I'm okay." He got up from his seat. "This is nothing I cannot handle." And with that, he left them with no further words.

"Hmm… Is it because of Kuro-chin?"

Green orbs met purple ones.

"I see, you think so too, Murasakibara?"

"Yeah…"

Midorima sighed, again, for the fourth time that day. "It's always like this whenever Akashi had problems with Kuroko. He would glare at everyone until the problem cleared. He is extremely scary at times like this; it makes me uncomfortable to stay close to him." He gazed outside the window. "Now what is the problem this time? I prefer it if they can make up quickly. It's been so long after all."

-.-

Monitoring a faraway branch company was not an easy task.

Juggling between his work, his study, his father's order, and his duty as the student council president was _so_ not easy.

Nevertheless, Akashi Seijuurou preferred that stressful life to the stress he got from his favorite bluenette avoiding him for three weeks.

Yes, the bluenette had been avoiding him for _three damn weeks._

Akashi Seijuurou was pissed beyond hell.

He had tried to contact the bluenette through phone, but the bluenette rejected his phone calls and ignored his messages. He tried to wait for the bluenette in front of the other's class, but somehow the bluenette always managed to pass by him without him noticing. Seemed like the bluenette got better in his misdirection. Under normal circumstances, this fact would make the redhead proud, but since this was _not_ normal circumstances, the redhead found it _extremely_ annoying.

Finding no other methods, Akashi Seijuurou finally decided to confront the bluenette by going to the other's house. He was going to Kuroko's house on Saturday morning since he also planned to take him out for a little date.

But oh, how mad was he when Saturday come and he could not execute his plan at all.

He found a single paper, containing the results of his hard work in England, laid in the small table beside his bed when he woke up. He was sure that his work had paid off, but how shocked he was when he read the data carefully and found out that his method did not work at all.

He was seething.

He could not accept the result. He phoned the manager he had picked to monitor the branch immediately. He wanted to check the validation of the information he got with the truth. No, an Akashi could not fail. _He_ could not fail. He was absolute.

 _"_ _Yes, Izuki speaking here."_

"Izuki, send me the data you have since my departure immediately."

 _"_ _I'm…. afraid it has been classified, Akashi-san."_

Akashi frowned. Something was off.

"Nothing is classified for me. Send me the data."

 _"_ _Um… I already sent the data to Akashi-sama. Maybe you should ask him instead, Akashi-san."_

Akashi smiled eerily. Now he knew _what_ was off. His father had manipulated the data.

 _'_ _Looks like my father is desperate on winning this bet.'_

"Listen here, _Izuki-san,_ _my orders are absolute._ " said Akashi with an intimidating voice. "Follow my orders and you would never go wrong."

The line went silent for a few seconds. Izuki was still hesitating.

Akashi's patience was thinning. "If you are afraid of my father, please rest assured. I will not let him do any harm to you."

He heard a nervous laugh from the other line. _"Well, you better hold on that promise, Akashi-san."_

"You know that I never broke a promise."

He closed his phone, knowing that the data would be sent to his email immediately. True enough, he found a new mail notification a minute later. He downloaded the data and erased it from his mailbox, asking the sender to do the same, before analyzing the new information he got.

Five minutes later, he smiled in triumphant.

-.-

On seven o'clock, Akashi entered the dining room and sat on his seat calmly. Seconds later, his father came in, and he greeted the older Akashi with a simple nod. "Father."

"Seijuurou." Replied the other redhead.

It was their usual greeting, simple yet distant, but both of them knew that there was tension in the air. Akashi Masaomi knew that his son had found out the truth, whilst Akashi Seijuurou knew that his father would do anything and everything to make him obey his rules.

But it's time to grow up. He would not stand _anyone_ to oppose him, even his own parent.

"Prepare your things, Seijuurou. You will be leaving next week."

Akashi smiled. He put down his chopstick and stared directly at his father. "I refuse to go to England, father."

"You will go to England for university. I am not accepting no as an answer."

"I would have accepted it if you did not manipulate the data, father."

His father frowned. "I did not manipulate the data."

Akashi scoffed elegantly – how anyone can do that is beyond miracle. "Then what do you call it? Cheating?"

"Watch your words when you are talking to me, son."

"Funny, this is the first time I had heard you call me son. I thought I was your employee all this time."

Akashi's father frowned. "Where did you learn to talk like that to your father? From your friends? Bad children. They are bad influence."

"Even if you caged me with no friends I will eventually find ways to bring you down, father."

"Oh? Now you want to bring me down?" His father smirked. "I'd like to see that."

Akashi nodded solemnly. "Already on it, father." He stood up from his seat gracefully. "Be prepared to be surprised."

-.-

Akashi Masaomi stared at the thick documents on his table with seething expression. The documents were full information about dirty methods he had used to achieve his goals. Each of his scandals was described in full details. There were also secretly taken photos, testimony of the victims, pieces of newspaper that had never been able to reach public's eyes, and many more.

Whilst he had wondered about who even dared to investigate such details, the phone on his table rang, and he jolted in surprise. He picked the phone and heard his secretary said, "Sir, your son is here."

Akashi Masaomi smiled bitterly. Of course. "Let him in."

"Yes, Sir."

Minutes later, the door to his office was opened, and a young redhead entered the room with a triumphant smile on his lips. "Father."

"Seijuurou."

The same greeting, simple yet distant, with more tension than this morning.

"I believe you have read the documents I prepared for you." Said Akashi Seijuurou, straight to the point. There was no need to beat around the bush after all.

"I had."

"Good, father. Now, do you know how I will use every bit of information that was written there?"

"Oh, you cannot threaten me, son. You do not have enough power to go against me."

The young Akashi laughed shortly. "Oh but I do, father." He closed the gap between them, just enough for his father to feel intimidated. "You must have realized already that most of the income you got is from the branch you appointed to me."

Akashi Masaomi remained silent.

"Every time the income from a branch declined, you left the problem to me, saying that it was to train me when in fact you couldn't solve the problem yourself. Am I wrong?"

Again, the older Akashi could not respond with anything other than clenching his hand in anger.

"Now you must realize that those branches had refused to accept order from you, because they know that you had abandoned them when they were in a slump. They knew that you are incompetent, and you could only get what you want with them through me. That is, unless you threaten them. Like what you did to Izuki-san. But don't you know father, that threatening people is not a wise way to get their loyalty?"

"… What do you want, Seijuurou?"

"Oh, you know perfectly what I want, father."

For a moment there, Akashi Masaomi thought that his son's eyes had changed its colors into crimson and gold. He feared his son for the first time.

"Do not stand in my way, father. If you do as I tell you, I will help you expand your business. That is, if you stop making more scandals than you already have now."

He turned to leave his father's office, but not before he gave his father a firm warning. "I show no mercy to those who oppose me, not even my own parent."

Hearing that, Akashi Masaomi stood from his chair in anger. Without thinking further, he grabbed a cup full of hot coffee on his desk and threw it to his son. It happened so fast, and unfortunately, the young Akashi did not have anything in him to shield himself from it. Akashi used his hands to protect his face (especially his eyes) on reflect, but of course the broken pieces injured his hands instead. Some of it still made its way to his face, while his hands were bleeding and burned from the coffee. His red shirt was drenched, and his chest was slightly burned because of it.

Akashi Seijuurou looked at his father with pity on his eyes. "You were the one who made me this way, father. Do not forget."

-.-

Akashi did not want anyone to know the _little_ dispute he just had with his father, so when he realized the state he was in, he was forced to get to his car through emergency staircase. After all, it would only bring more disgrace to the Akashi's family name if anyone in the office noticed what his father just did to him.

He hissed audibly when he tried to phone his chauffeur to get the car ready (so they could leave immediately), but somehow he made it. Once he got inside the car, his chauffeur looked at him as if he grew two heads, but Akashi simply said, "Go to Midorima's house immediately. And forget what you just saw."

The chauffeur nodded and said, "Yes, Akashi-san."

 _'_ _What a horrible day.'_ Thought Akashi as he stared at the dull scenery of the city. Minutes passed, and the pain on his hands had lessened. He phoned his green-haired friend, much easily this time, and greeted him with a simple, "Shintarou."

 _"…_ _Akashi."_

Noticing the other's sour tone, Akashi chuckled, amused. "You don't seem to be happy hearing my voice."

 _"_ _No, I'm neither feeling happy nor unhappy. I do wonder why you call me though."_

"Ah. I'm on the way to your house right now."

 _"_ _What?"_

"Is there anyone on your house right now?"

 _"_ _Uh… no…"_

"Great."

And just like that, he disconnected the call. Ten minutes later, he was standing in front Midorima's house.

He pressed the intercom, and Midorima's voice greeted him with a sour, _"Who?"_

"It's me, Shintarou."

Seconds later, the door opened, revealing a grim-looking green-haired man, hugging a big teddy bear plushie – which was most likely his lucky item of the day. His expression turned into a shocked one though, once he saw the state Akashi was in. "What the hell did you get yourself into this time?"

Again, Akashi chuckled. "I thought that you would be elated seeing this ungraceful form of mine for the first time, Shintarou."

"Whatever. Just… come inside."

Once the redhead got inside, Midorima asked him, "Why are you here anyway? You should be at the hospital."

"Ah. I just thought that I have a friend who can treat this kind of wound, so why not use him?"

"You're horrible. You just don't want the hospital to know how you get into this state."

Akashi smiled. "You seem to understand me better right now, Shintarou."

"Hmph. I have been your friend for six years not for nothing. Now, give me your hand."

Several moments had passed, and Midorima looked at his work proudly. Akashi's hands had been bandaged carefully and neatly, while the two small wounds on his face were treated with a simple band-aid.

"Now apply this to the burn in your neck and chest. And change your shirt." The oha-asa maniac paused for a moment before asking, "Do you need to borrow my shirt?"

"No need, I have a change of clothes." Answered Akashi as he started unbuttoning his shirt. How Akashi had even thought of bringing spare clothes was unknown.

After Akashi had finished applying the ointment, he wore his spare white shirt. He was amused deep inside when he noticed that his friend had been staring at him the whole time.

"Shintarou, mind telling me why were you looking so intensely at my body?"

The green-haired man spluttered incoherent words with a blush crept in slowly on his face. "I – I did not!"

"Is that so?"

Midorima pushed up his glasses nervously. "I just thought that you have a really nice built, even with your height."

"My height, huh…" Akashi chuckled with venom. That was a warning, and Midorima realized immediately that he just touched a sensitive subject. "Well, I will forgive you today, since you just treated my wound nicely." The redhead got up, ready to leave.

"Wait, Akashi!"

"Hn?"

Midorima scowled. "Are you really not going to tell me anything?"

"Hn, let's just say that I had a little dispute with my father… but I expect you not to tell anyone, right, Shintarou?"

-.-

The next day, the school was on uproar when the students and teachers alike noticed Akashi's bandaged hands. The moment he stepped foot on the school's ground, rumors spread immediately, picturing him in every dramatic stories about his injury. However, none of them was true. True to his word, Midorima did not say anything to anyone. The greenhead simply stick by his side, ready if the redhead needed him for anything, since the man himself couldn't use his hand very well due to the burn and injury.

When the Generation of Miracles learned that Akashi was injured, their reactions were truly amusing, to say the least.

The first one to know was, of course, Kise Ryouta. Once the girls told the blonde model, Kise ran immediately to Akashi's class, ignoring every girls that were trying to give him a simple good morning.

"Akashicchi!"

Akashi sighed inwardly. _'Now I know how Tetsuya feels every time he hears Ryouta's voice first thing in the morning.'_

The blonde walked straight to Akashi's desk, assessed him for a few seconds, before he wailed, "No! Your face is injured! This is terrible!" He brought his face closer to Akashi's. "No! Don't let it leave any scar on your beautiful face, Akashicchi!"

"I think you should be worried about his hand more than his face, Kise." Said Midorima as he pushed up his glasses. "He only got two small scratches on his face. It's not a big deal."

"Bu – but, even a small scratch can ruin his whole face, Midorimacchi!"

"Ryouta." Called Akashi with an authority. "The first period will begin shortly. Why don't you come back to your class already?"

And just like that, the redhead had successfully shut up the wailing blonde model.

The next one who knew was Murasakibara Atsushi.

As always, the purple head entered the classroom with a bag of snack. He was munching with no manner as he dropped his bag on his desk unceremoniously. He was about to settled himself right in when he noticed that the one who was sitting beside him had bandaged hands. "Eh… Aka-chin… Why are your hands bandaged?"

"Hn?" Akashi looked up to see Murasakibara before he answered with, "It's nothing serious, Atsushi. Don't worry."

And since Murasakibara never dared to defy Akashi, he knew that it was his cue for him not to ask any further.

Aomine Daiki learned about the truth when he heard the girls in his class talking about it. His first thought was, _'What? Akashi is injured? That Akashi? That Akashi Seijuurou?'_ The dark-skinned man chuckled shortly with an evil grin. _'Finally. My time has come.'_

He came to the redhead's class when they got their first break.

"Oi, Akashi!" He headed to his ex-captain's desk immediately after he spotted red hair. "Heard you got injured, huh?"

"Daiki." Akashi smiled at him sweetly – though it was far scarier than his normal evil grin. "Glad to know that you still care for me."

"Well, I just thought that it's finally my time to get revenge on you."

"Oh?"

"You know, for all those inhuman punishment you made me go through."

Aomine grinned before he launched a punch to the redhead's injured hands. Too bad though, his punch only met the redhead's desk as Akashi was quick to avoid his wild punch. The navy haired man was about to launch another strike when he felt the cold tips of a scissors on his neck.

"It's still 100 years too early for you to launch a sneak attack on me, Daiki. I am absolute; you will never be able to beat my emperor eye for I see the future."

Seeing the small interaction between Akashi and Aomine, the only thing that passed through Midorima's head was, _'Aomine is suicidal. How many years will it take for him to understand that he's no match for Akashi?'_

-.-

The last one from the Generation of Miracles who knew that Akashi had been injured was Kuroko Tetsuya. The quiet phantom man confronted the basketball club's ex-captain about it when they got their second break.

"Akashi-kun."

The redhead shifted his gaze from his book to the person who stood in front of him. "Done avoiding me, Tetsuya?"

The bluenette jolted, guiltiness was evident on his face. But Kuroko being Kuroko, he just ignored it stubbornly. He needed to know something more important after all. "What happened to your hands?"

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing, Akashi-kun. I don't think you're just bandaging your hands to protect your nails like Midorima-kun."

"Oi Kuroko! You bastard!" yelled Midorima.

The redhead chuckled, clearly amused. Midorima was right beside him for goodness sake, but the bluenette did not even bat an eye when he was clearly insulting the greenhead.

"Akashi-kun." Called the bluenette again. "Tell me."

"But I don't want to tell you, Tetsuya."

Kuroko's face stiffened, but he stood still, refused to back down. "No, you will tell me, Akashi-kun."

"Then," Akashi got up from his seat and stepped closer to the bluenette. "What do I get from telling you, Tetsuya? Will you stop avoiding me?"

"… If I say yes, will you tell me then?"

The red emperor fell silent. He did not want Kuroko to know what his father had done to him, but moreover, he did not want the bluenette to know what he had said to his father. After all, Kuroko's family was nothing like his; the bluenette would not understand.

"No, Tetsuya, I can't tell you." Said Akashi with cold eyes. "It's just a small wound, nothing to worry about."

-.-

 _'_ _Nothing to worry about?'_ Kuroko scoffed. He was irritated. So irritated. _'Why won't Akashi-kun tell me anything?'_

He threw his back on the bed and hugged the pillow tightly. _'He chose not telling me anything over me not avoiding him anymore. Fine. I will avoid you even more, Akashi-kun.'_

He rolled over aimlessly for a few times, all the while thinking about a certain redhead.

Kuroko sighed. _'Who am I kidding?'_

He glanced on his phone, contemplating something for a few moments before he finally grabbed the blue-sky phone and dialed a number.

 _"_ _Yes?"_

The phantom boy took a deep breath. "Good evening, Midorima-kun. I'd like to ask you something, please."

He could hear a soft _tsk_ from the other line.

 _"…_ _What is it? If it's about how Akashi got that burn, I won't tell you anything."_

"I see. So his hands got burned, huh. I couldn't tell since it was bandaged."

Again, he heard the greenhead clicked his tongue.

 _"_ _Listen Kuroko, Akashi told me not to tell anyone, so I won't."_

"Ah, do you mean he _threatened_ you?"

 _"…_ _More or less, yeah."_

"Don't worry about it, Midorima-kun, I can assure you that Akashi-kun will leave you alone even if you spill it to me."

 _"_ _What makes you so sure?"_

"Because I won't let him."

 _"…"_

Kuroko sensed the other's doubt and said, "Just trust me, Midorima-kun."

The greenhead sighed. _"Fine. He told me that he had gotten himself into a little dispute with his father."_

Kuroko's eyes widened. Again, Akashi's father. Although he had never met the man, he knew that Akashi Masaomi – Akashi's father – was a hateful man. He was the very reason why Akashi had developed a split personality. However, thanks to his little conspiracy against Seirin High, Akashi had learned defeat for the first time, and his true self had come back for the better.

 _"_ _I don't really know what the cause is, but all I know is that his father threw a cup of hot coffee to him. He was fast enough to shield his face at least. I had a hard time taking out some broken pieces that had pierced his hands, though."_

The bluenette's heartbeat raised quickly upon learning the truth. He despised the older Akashi even more now.

 _"_ _He might have to go abroad for good because of his father."_

The greenhead waited for a response, but after a good minute had passed, there was still no sound coming from the other line.

 _"_ _What will you do, Kuroko?"_

"Eh?" Kuroko gasped. Midorima had completely caught him off-guard.

 _"_ _If he really has to go abroad, there are little chances that he will come back here, you know. If that happens, then when will you be able to tell him about your feelings?"_

Kuroko was taken aback. "Wh – what do you mean, Midorima-kun? What feelings?"

 _"_ _Don't act stupid, Kuroko."_

"… Thank you for your information, Midorima-kun. I… I'll think about what you said."

Kuroko closed his phone, effectively ending the call.

He let out a deep sigh as his eyes glanced at the wall clock in his room. It was nearly nine at night.

 _'_ _That's right, what should I do if Akashi-kun goes abroad for real? Although he promised me that he will not… his father might do anything for it to happen. Then, I won't be able to meet him anymore.'_

He rose from the bed, took his coat, and went out of the room. He told his parent who was watching night show that he just wanted to go out and take some fresh air before he raced out of his house.

His feet led him towards Akashi's house by instinct, though he was still debating in his mind about what he should say when he met Akashi.

 _'_ _What am I doing? It's late already, I might bother Akashi-kun if I visits him in this hour…'_

Although he knew that, he could not stop his foot from moving forwards.

 _'_ _It's cold… It's almost winter, huh…'_

He bit his lower lip.

 _'_ _We will graduate in spring… if, if Akashi-kun has to go abroad… then, spring will be the season of separation…'_

He chuckled bitterly. _'How ironic… When the sakura blooms, I will not be able to see him again.'_

He was a few steps from the Akashi manor when his eyes caught a black limousine stopped in front of the house. A young man with a glaring red hair stepped out of the expensive car, and when Kuroko noticed who it was, he could not help himself from calling out the young redhead's name.

"Akashi-kun!"

The redhead stopped on his track when he heard someone had called his name. He turned his head towards the sound of the voice.

And their gaze met. Crimson red orbs and soothing sky-blue ones.

-.-

Akashi's eyes widened for a fraction when he noticed the person who was standing alone in the cold night. He told his driver to leave him alone and park the limousine without breaking eye contact with the phantom boy. He held his gaze, unwavering, as he took some steps towards the bluenette.

"Tetsuya." Greeted Akashi as usual when he was close enough to the bluenette. There were some questions in the redhead's mind as to why the other had chosen that late hour to visit him, but he knew that right at that moment, he was not supposed to say anything.

Therefore, he did not. He waited until the bluenette was ready to talk to him.

A few minutes passed with no words between them, only their gaze meeting each other. Searching. Trying to find out the truth.

Until Kuroko took a step closer and grabbed one of Akashi's bandaged hands carefully. "You fought with your father, didn't you, Akashi-kun?"

"… Yes."

"Is it because you refused to go abroad?"

"… Tetsuya." There was a hint of discomfort in the red orbs. And Kuroko knew that.

"Do you have to go abroad?"

"Tetsuya, I – "

"Please wait, Akashi-kun, I'm not ready to hear the answer."

The redhead closed his mouth and swallowed the words he had wanted to say, not because of the other's words, but because of the hint of yearning in the cyan eyes. He did not know why the other showed him that expression at that time. An hour ago after he had done cleaning up after his father's mistakes, all he had wanted was a good bath and a good sleep, but here he was, standing in the cold with the phantom boy, searching and learning the other's always-blank expression.

Another few seconds passed by before Kuroko let go of his hand and took a step back. The bluenette turned back and walked in the opposite direction, maybe he had decided to go home.

To say that Akashi Seijuurou was confused was an understatement. Maybe cleaning up after his father's mistakes for a daylong took a toll on him. Maybe it was time for him to turn back, take a bath, sleep, and think about it properly tomorrow.

But he could not tear his gaze away from Kuroko's retreating back. He was glued on his place by some kind of magic, and although his mind and body was tired, he ignored it. There were many unanswered questions in his mind; maybe he would be able to solve some of them through analysis if only he was not stressed by his father's lousy work.

Why was Kuroko there? How much did he hear from Midorima? Why was he asking him that kind of questions? Did Kuroko forget about his promise that he would stay here, not leaving him to a faraway place?

Why was Kuroko showing him that kind of expression?

Why wasn't he able to read Kuroko's blank expression as usual?

For the first time in his life, Akashi Seijuurou did not feel confident.

-.-

 _'_ _Do I feel lonely?'_ Kuroko Tetsuya asked himself as he walked further away from the redhead.

 _'_ _I don't though.'_

 _'_ _Is it because I just met Akashi-kun?'_

He stopped walking.

 _'_ _Then, if Akashi-kun went abroad, will I feel lonely?'_

He traced his memories back to when the redhead left for England a few weeks ago. And he realized that yes, _yes,_ he felt lonely when he could not see the redhead.

 _'_ _Who am I kidding?'_

A single tear rolled down his cheeks.

 _'_ _Turn back, Tetsuya. Turn back and tell him how you feel.'_

There were some hesitation in his mind, and fear – after all, it was his first love.

 _'_ _What if when I come back there, ringed his bell, and he refused to see me? Even if he does, what will I do if he rejects me?'_

By that time, Kuroko was full of anxiety that he could not remember the signals Akashi threw at him oh so many times.

 _'_ _How do I recover after he tells me no?'_

The bluenette turned back, and oh, how relieved he was when he saw the redhead still standing on the same spot. His crimson orbs were gazing at him unwavering, and all of a sudden, a lonely feeling took over the bluenette's mind.

 _'_ _No, how do I survive without those eyes protecting me?'_

Without thinking any further, Kuroko ran back towards the redhead and dived directly into the other's open arms.

 _'_ _I need him. I can't go on without him.'_

-.-

Akashi Seijuurou smiled warmly when he saw the blunette turned back and ran towards him. He opened his arms and accepted Kuroko into his embrace.

After seeing the other's bawling face, he finally understood. All of the questions he had earlier in his mind only led him into one conclusion: Kuroko was lonely.

Akashi was ecstatic to know that he was the reason as to why the bluenette felt lonely.

He embraced the phantom's body tighter but without hurting nor suffocating the other.

"Don't leave, Akashi-kun." Said Kuroko in between his sobs. "I need you. I… I love you."

By that time, he could not stop himself from grinning. Oh how much he wanted to hear those words coming out of the other's lips.

"I won't leave you, Tetsuya, because I need you too." He ducked his head for a bit and whispered into the other's ear, "I love you too, Tetsuya."

The bluenette's sobs stopped, and he heard a soft, "… Really?" coming out of the other.

He loosened his embrace and kiss Kuroko's crown of head affectionately. He lowered his gaze and once again, red meets blue.

"I love you, Kuroko Tetsuya."

-.-

Kuroko stared at the inside of Akashi manor full of bewilderment. The young redhead had invited him inside, and he could not say no, not when the redhead stared at him so lovingly.

Now that he thinks of it, the redhead had always stared at him that way.

"Tetsuya?"

Kuroko gasped. "Yes, Akashi-kun?"

Chuckling, Akashi took the other's hand and led him the way. "Come, my room is this way."

Once they entered Akashi's room, once again Kuroko was bewildered by the size of the bed the redhead's had.

"You have a king-size bed, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko inched closer to the bed. "I'm jealous… It looks soft… Can I sit on it?"

Akashi chuckled again. "Sure, go ahead."

Once Kuroko settled on the bed, he finally took notice of the room. The wall was painted a simple white, the same color with the wall in the hall, and Kuroko assumed that all of the room had the same wall color. There was a desk in the room, a small bookcase, a TV, and… nothing else. To be honest, Kuroko was a bit disappointed.

Akashi sat beside him once he had taken off his jacket and his black tie. "Does my room not to your liking?"

"Hmm… it looks plain. I thought it would be more… sparkling."

The redhead laughed at that. "When we rent our own place, you can decorate it as you like."

Kuroko turned his head and locked his gaze with Akashi's. "Really?"

Akashi smiled. He understood that Kuroko's question was concerning an issue more than decorating their room.

"Sure." He inched closer and stole a quick kiss on the other's cheek. "I can go to the university here, my father had agreed on it."

Kuroko was a bit surprised when the redhead kissed him, but he did not let it distract him. "What's the condition?"

 _'_ _Oh my, I have quite a smart lover.'_ Thought Akashi as he smiled fondly.

"I have to help him expand our business." The redhead paused for a second. "Though I don't think it alone will satisfy him… so, I plan to overthrow him little by little."

Kuroko's eyes widened. "What?" He always knew that the redhead was a capable person, but to overthrow his father? That is not an easy task.

"Don't underestimate me, Tetsuya." Said Akashi as he – once again – inched closer towards the bluenette. "For now, the only thing you have to know is that I will never leave you, Tetsuya." He trapped the other's face in his hands. "Now, let me have my long-awaited kiss."

-.-

Several days before their approaching graduation, Akashi and Kuroko visited Tokyo University to see the list of the students who are accepted. Akashi was – of course – accepted with no doubt, what with his score topping all the others. He was the emperor after all, he have to stand above all the others.

However, sadly, his favorite bluenette was not accepted. Not even in the waitlist.

Akashi Seijuurou was in despair.

"I have failed."

"Huh?" Kuroko faced his lover questioningly. "You're accepted though?"

"I failed in tutoring you."

Kuroko was taken aback. Then, a few seconds later, he burst out into a fit of laughter. "I'm the one who failed but why are you the one who are depressed, Akashi-kun?"

"This is no laughing matter, Tetsuya. Now I cannot see your face every day."

"You can, though." Kuroko tilted his head to the side; an adorable smile adorned his lips. "We're living together right now; you can see me every morning, every night, and on our off days."

To say that Kuroko's smile was contagious was an understatement. It can even light up the world – well, Akashi's world at least.

"That's right." He paused for a moment. "Now what do you do if you're not accepted?"

"Well, luckily, I'm accepted at my second choice of university, so…"

"It's Mihashi, right? I see… So you will be in the same university as Satsuki."

"Yes. And you will be in the same university as Midorima-kun."

"Still…" Akashi sighed. "I still want you to be in the same university as me."

Kuroko chuckled. "Don't say that, Akashi-kun. I'm plenty happy that you're accepted in you first choice of university."

Akashi's chest tightened. No matter how simple it is, every simple word, or every simple gesture Kuroko made, it never fails to make him happy.

"Let's go home, Akashi-kun. I will cook you your favorite tofu soup."

-.-

At their third year in university, Akashi Seijuurou had graduated from Tokyo University at the top of his class. Four years later, he had overthrown his father at the age of 25. He was busier than before, but with his capable mind and his capable worker, his business only grew larger and larger.

Meanwhile, Kuroko Tetsuya had graduated from Mihashi University at his fourth year in university, with an average grade, and became a kindergarten teacher. The nursery school he worked at was in the ground level of their apartment complex, and yes, it was Akashi's. Once the redhead learned that Kuroko had dreamed to become a kindergarten teacher, he set up a nursery school immediately.

And Nigou, their dog pet, had finally stopped barking along whenever he heard Kuroko moaned loudly from the bedroom after their third month of living together.

After seven years of living together, Akashi – who was on top of the Akashi Corporation – made a deal with Kuroko that they will leave Sunday as their off day. No work, no business trip, no children, no field trip, and no phone calls.

Sometimes, they would invite their schoolmate to play basketball when Kuroko did not feel sore from their exercise in the previous night.

When it was weekday, Kuroko would wake up before Akashi, prepared a simple breakfast for the two, gave food to Nigou, and prepared a bath, before coming back to the bedroom to wake the redhead. In the evening, he would shop for groceries before coming home, prepared a bath, and waited for Akashi to come home. Most of the time, the redhead would come home before eight, because he knew – from the experience – that Kuroko would not sleep unless he was there beside him. On the rare night when Akashi had to work late – or even spend a night in the office – Kuroko would simply sulked and slept with Nigou on their sofa bed. After that, Akashi would have to buy him a large serving of vanilla milkshake to make the bluenette smiled at him again. It worried him, honestly, how much the bluenette loved the vanilla milkshakes, it was not good for his health, after all, the bluenette would often skip his lunch just because he was already full of vanilla milkshake if Akashi didn't check on him.

In their off day though, Akashi would be the one who wake up first. He would stare at his beloved's face, marveling how cute the other is no matter how much they had aged. Often, his hands would play with the other's blue locks, trying to tame the bed hair to no avail.

"Hmm… Sei-kun?" Kuroko cracked one eye open.

"Good morning, Tetsuya." Akashi smiled as he inched closer and kissed the other on the lips as a good morning kiss.

"Hmm… Can you prepare today's breakfast? My body ached all over…"

Akashi chuckled. "Are you fine with it, Tetsuya? The last time I tried to cook, you had a diarrhea."

Kuroko's face paled. "Ah, that's right. I was half-asleep, Sei-kun, don't even try to prepare any food."

"I'll call for a delivery." Said the redhead as he sat up and reached for his phone. "Is chicken rice porridge okay?"

"Sure."

After Akashi had done with the call, he leaned back and gave Kuroko a kiss on the forehead. "I better take a bath before the food comes."

"Hmm…"

"Do you need me to fold the laundries after this, Tetsuya?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright."

"Ah, Sei-kun, can you also put the dirty laundry into the basket?"

"Sure."

"Great." Kuroko smiled. How he wished that every day was off day.

* * *

-.-

* * *

 **The End**

A/N: It has come to an end! Now tell me what you think, don't be shy! This is my first long KnB fics, so I need as many reviews as possible! :D


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